Watchmaker's lathe
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
late 18th century
This museum-catalogued horological tool is an iron watchmaker's lathe dated by the Science Museum Group to the late 18th century. Constructed as a relatively simple hand lathe or turns, the device features two plain centres and a simple adjustable hand rest mounted along a central rectangular bar.
The source institution records that the tool was held in a vice during bench work, while a bow was used to rotate the workpiece.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Type
- Watchmaker's lathe
- Credit
- Orme, L.M.
- Material
- Iron
- Operation
- Held in a vice and rotated via a bow
- Centres and Rest
- Two plain centres and a simple hand rest
Design
- Visible features
- • Museum accession number '1925-779' painted in white on the main rectangular iron bar and impressed on the foot of the hand rest • Fitted with threaded thumbscrews with flattened oval wings for securing the sliding stocks and rest • Mottled and pitted dark patina consistent with aged forged iron • Opposed cylindrical centres terminating in pointed and recessed tips for supporting work
- Material and Physical Observations
- The lathe exhibits a mottled and pitted dark patina consistent with aged forged iron across its surviving framework. Opposed cylindrical centres terminate in pointed and recessed tips configured to hold and support workpieces between the stocks.
- Object Classification and Configuration
- Catalogued under Hand and Machine Tools by the Science Museum Group, this late 18th-century tool is institutionally described as an iron lathe of relatively simple type. The assembly features two plain centres and a simple hand rest mounted along a central bar. Physical inspection records threaded thumbscrews with flattened oval wings used to secure the sliding stocks and rest along the rectangular iron bar. Museum accession number '1925-779' is painted in white on the main rectangular bar and impressed on the foot of the hand rest.
- Operational Context and Documentation Gaps
- Institutional operational notes record that the lathe was held in a vice during use, and a bow was employed to rotate the work. Neither the mounting vice nor the bow forms part of the surviving tool record. The museum entry records a credit to 'Orme, L.M.' The maker, workshop identity, and geographic origin are not recorded in this source documentation.
Identification
- Reference
- co46416
- Object Number
- 1925-779
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: Maker and country of origin are not specified in the source documentation
- Research required: The bow and mounting vice described in operational notes are not part of the surviving tool assembly